Data and evidence. Those are two words that leaders and teachers often hear and are certainly not new to the educational vernacular. Recently, we posted a short video on our Instructional Leadership Collective Instagram page focusing on using data as a flashlight and not as a hammer, which you can find here. One of the comments we received was: “Data does not drive anything. Influence, inform? Humans make decisions not data. Whew- had to get that off my mind.” The truth is, data and evidence do not have to be dirty words in education, which is why we created a video talking about using data through the lens of a flashlight and not a hammer.

In fact, in our last post where we wrote how teachers and leaders have blind spots, Michael’s example of bringing his calendar to a professional development session became very important evidence for him and his leadership practices. It was a simple yet profound way to see where he spent his time. It was data based on his actions, but he was the one who turned data into evidence to make better decisions about where he needed to spend his time. What he found is that his actions were not aligned with his main priorities as a leader.

Data and evidence are often intertwined in many ways, and although they are interconnected, there are nuances that make them different. We believe it’s important to create a common language and a common understanding in education. If you have been in teaching and leading for any amount of time, you will notice that we have common language (i.e., tier 1 instruction, etc.), but schools don’t often have a common understanding for those words. This is true for data and evidence.

Data often refers to raw facts, figures, or information collected from observations, measurements, surveys, tests, or other sources. This may include test scores, attendance records, survey responses, or classroom-observation notes.

Evidence is an extension of data. Evidence refers to data that have been analyzed, interpreted, or used to support a claim, conclusion, or decision. Evidence is an extension of data, meaning that it shows patterns, trends, or findings that can inform action.

Using Data to Inspire Growth

Over the years, we both have become more intentional in our actions and are finding through our work that many building- and district-level administrators are trying to improve in this area as well. Leaders and teachers truly want to find data that will help them make informed decisions on how impactful their actions are when it comes to their main priorities and are trying to engage in deeper conversations where data are concerned.

For example, just like in Michael’s example about the use of his calendar to understand where he spent his time, we often work with educational leaders to improve what they prioritize on their calendars and meeting agendas. How do their actions align with their main priority? What is one of the top priorities? Helping students learn. If leaders aren’t focusing their actions on student learning, then they are missing out on being a part of the solution to the student learning focus they are seeking.

In working with such leaders, we are navigating through the nuances that come with committing time to actions that impact what takes place at the classroom level. When we say nuances, we mean:

• Giving themselves the permission to get out of their office.
• Taking time to reflect with others and not just on their way home from school.
• Carving out time during the week to enter classrooms.

As leaders become more aware of their primary goals of a focus on student learning, we work with them to navigate through the pressure of always needing to have the right answers and instead to engaging in conversations where they spend more time asking the right questions. We are strong believers in having a learner’s mindset.

In a Harvard Business Review article, Rebecca Knight writes,
“Leaders in the past felt pressure to have all the answers, but the pace of technological change calls for a different approach.” Like AI, problem-solving now centers on skillfully engineering the right prompts rather than storing all the information in your head. She says. The big arc for leaders is asking the right questions.”

In workshops, we often use the work of Victoria Bernhardt (see the first chart below) as a way to demonstrate the four types of data (Demographic, Perceptions, Student Learning, and School Processes), which can all be the catalyst for deeper conversations about data and evidence. Leaders easily grasp the four categories in building a comprehensive data-collection process for their schools or systems. However, in our work, we see that leaders find it easier to talk about demographic and perceptions data but have a more difficult time focusing on student-learning and school processes data. For the purposes of this post, we focus solely on student-learning data and how it can help align actions to student objectives.

Seeing Data Evolve to Evidence?

We believe leaders can deepen their understanding of student learning and growth by using that chart and asking questions such as:

• Who is in charge of gathering these data?
• How and where will these data be shared?
• How does knowing these data become evidence that impacts our strategic thinking and planning?

And finally and most importantly:

• How do these data become evidence that impacts the work at the classroom level between teachers and students?

Green cells - Represent the type of data that can immediately impact the students in that classroom the next day and the actions leaders can take immediately.

Yellow cells - Represent the type of data that can impact the teacher’s instructional moves in the future (maybe with their current class or maybe with subsequent classes) and the actions leaders can take immediately.

In the End

There are so many times that we work with leaders who believe that their focus is completely aligned with their actions, but they are not. If leaders can take just a little time to match data such as those in Bernhardt’s work with their calendar and agenda items, it will begin to help them feel more proactive.

We often hear principals tell us they engage their teachers in conversations about data during staff meetings, professional development, and workshops. When we probe a bit deeper, we discover many of those conversations focus on the areas in the shades of blue. Bernhardt’s four types of data are an incredible building- and system-data tool.

We would encourage you to look specifically at the “types” of data conversations you are having with teachers to see if they fall into the green or yellow cells. Leading professional learning with teachers in these cells will expand their knowledge for working directly with students in their classrooms.